[546] in peace2
WELLESLY STUDENTS SIT IN FOR MULTICULTURALISM: please forward!
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Aimee L Smith)
Fri Feb 23 11:26:35 2001
Message-Id: <200102231626.LAA29302@gold.mit.edu>
To: peace-list@MIT.EDU, peace-women@MIT.EDU, greens-announce@MIT.EDU
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Date: Fri, 23 Feb 2001 11:26:05 -0500
From: Aimee L Smith <alsmith@MIT.EDU>
PLEASE FORWARD THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE TO ANYONE, PARTICULARLY PEOPLE ON
CAMPUSES!
Greetings from Wellesley College, where students have been involved in a
months-long struggle to achieve a support network for students of Asian
descent. Wellesley College, which is 24% Asian/Asian-American, has been
without an advisor to students of Asian descent (ASAD) for 2 years. The
administration has refused our requests to create a more desirable,
full-time job description, despite FOUR FAILED SEARCHES to fill the
position under the old job description. The Wellesley Asian Action
Movement (WAAM) began a sit-in this morning to demand change, and we are
committed to remain in the administration building in order to win this
fight.
WAAM is a coalition of students which was formed approximately two weeks
ago to respond to Administrative neglect of Asian/Asian-American concerns.
While the college has met our curricular demands to our satisfaction,
they still refuse to offer the FINANCIAL COMMITMENT to creating a safe,
supportive environment for students of Asian descent.
While other cultural organizations on campus do not (yet) have full-time
advisors, the sheer number of Asian students on campus -- 648 -- creates
an extra need and a lot more time. By refusing to even acknowledge that
Asian students have ANY REAL NEED for a full-time advisor, the
administration has illustrated its gross misconception of the concerns of
the Asian/Asian-American student body. BUT WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN!
Please:
1) write a letter to a campus publication showing your support for our
continuing sit-in.
2) write a letter to your activist mailing lists, local publications, and
friends at other campuses encouraging further support.
3) email President Diana Chapman Walsh (dwalsh@wellesley.edu), telling
her you support WAAM and encouraging her to substantiate Wellesley's
claims to multicultural awareness and supportiveness.
4) forward this email to other friends across the country and around the
world.
Please support us in our struggle! Wellesley's actions could effect the
models of multicultural administration and counseling on campuses all over
the country, so we all stand to gain here. Thank you so much!
~~Erin Judge, '02
ejudge@wellesley.edu
(781) 283-1974
